With documentary set to debut, David Loiseau looks for vintage form at TPF 8

David Loiseau believes mixed martial arts is one of the most fan-accessible sports imaginable. Yet, at the end of the day, he knows MMA fans rarely get the full story.

So as the former UFC title challenger and the upcoming Tachi Palace Fights 8 headliner prepares for the debut of a documentary based on his career and teammate Georges St-Pierre’s, he’s excited to pull back the curtain.

And as Loiseau told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), the answers to often-asked questions aren’t always easy ones.

Loiseau (19-10), once one of the world’s top 185-pound fighters, look to get back to the top when he meets middleweight champion Leopoldo Serao (17-7) in the main event of Friday’s “Tachi Palace Fights 8: All or Nothing” event. MMAjunkie.com streams the show for free from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.

Then, next week is the world premiere of “The Striking Truth,” a documentary directed by Stephen J. Wong and Bobby Razak that features Loiseau and fellow Canadian St-Pierre.

Loiseau said he first pitched the idea of the film years before anyone really knew who he and St-Pierre were. But Wong liked the idea, and they began filming in 2006 at UFC 58. Loiseau fought then-champ Rich Franklin in the headliner, and St-Pierre took on legend B.J. Penn in a featured bout.

It was a pivotal time in both fighters’ careers.

“It’s a documentary but more of a human story,” Loiseau said. “It’s for everyone, not just MMA fans. It’s something that’s going to inspire a lot of people. It’s not just about fighting. It’s a great movie.”

With more than four years of footage, including backstage access before the duo’s major fights, the film captures all the highs and lows of professional-fighting careers. It also captures two careers that veered into very different directions.

“It came out better than I thought it would,” Loiseau said.

At 31 years old, Loiseau’s story is far from over. He’s won four of his past six fights, but both losses came in one-fight returns to the UFC, where he struggled to reclaim his once-dominant form on MMA’s biggest stage. The film captures all that. But though filming is complete, Loiseau’s career isn’t.

As he hopes the documentary will show, Loiseau can’t give an easy answer to what went wrong in those fights.

“The mental game is very important,” he said. “It’s 80 percent on fight night. So you have to put in the work and punch in the hours in the gym so that mentally everything flows.”

And when things go wrong?

“There are always factors that people, fans, don’t know about from the outside,” he said. “It’s not only, ‘You lost this fight and didn’t let your hands go.’ There’s strategies, personal issues. There’s stuff you guys don’t know about. So it’s hard to say, ‘It happened because of this or that.’

Loiseau tries to explain the point further but interrupts himself, careful not to pin the blame on anyone but himself.

“The fans think I’m not exciting, but,” he said before regrouping. “Actually, it is my fault. It’s up to me to make adjustments. I take full blame for these losses and performances. That’s it. I just need to move forward. I took a good look at me and my career, (and) I just needed to put in the right work at the right places.”

Training primary at Tristar Gym with trainer Firas Zahabi, he thinks he’s done that for Friday’s fight, which is a golden opportunity. While not one of the world’s most prominent promotions, Tachi Palace Fights has a strong following and influence in this sport, and it’s helped many up-and-comers and seasoned vets go on to big fights elsewhere.

If victorious, Loiseau will claim a belt and further prove to himself that he’s meant to be an MMA fighter. After all, he has no plans to quit anytime soon.

“It’s my 11th year as a professional, and honestly, as long as God wants me to fight, I’ll keep fighting,” he said. “I live a clean lifestyle. No drugs ever. No alcohol ever. No partying. I live a clean lifetstyle, and as long as God wants me to fight, I fight.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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